Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

When mindfulness is weak, defilements are strong; when mindfulness is strong, defilements are weak.

The teaching of the Buddha is based on two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth. Without understanding the relationship between these two, the deeper meaning of the Buddha's teaching cannot be understood.

By understanding emptiness, one understands all phenomena. Without understanding emptiness, one understands nothing.

The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.

The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy. This is the goal of Buddhist practice.

We need the courage to learn from our experience and the wisdom to be willing to change and grow.

The mind itself is the maker of all happiness and misery; yet beings do not understand this and blame external conditions.

The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.

The stages of insight unfold naturally when mindfulness is continuous. There is no need to desire them or try to make them happen.

The rising and falling of the abdomen is not the main object. The main object is to develop mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

The mind is the forerunner of all things. Our present life is the result of our past thoughts, and our future life will be the result of our present thoughts.

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

To see directly is to be free of hope and fear. Hope and fear are like a cloud before the sun.

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.

Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.

Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache: you won't be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.

The grass is greener where you water it.

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities.

Panic, anxiety, and stress are not obstacles to the practice. They are the path to wisdom and compassion.

Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look.

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

The mind is like a wild monkey, jumping here and there. But through meditation, we learn to see whatever arises in our mind with more spaciousness and clarity.

Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

The practice of metta begins with oneself, for only when we have developed loving-kindness towards ourselves can we truly offer it to others.

Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves.

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.